Blackstaff Read Online Free PDF Page B

vision … I didn’t know it before, but Khelben’s laugh was in my vision too.”
    “You’re kidding me! Well, tell me—”
    “Ladies, good morning. Let us proceed.” Khelben walked briskly into the room, his face cloaked in its usual stone-seriousness.
    Tsarra saw what had gone unnoticed in the dark stairwell. Instead of his normal dark robes, Khelben wore modern-cut robes of deep crimson wool. His trademark black staff that he often carried with him was not the usual trim staff shod in silver on the ends. Instead, he bore a gnarled and blackened piece of wood that seemed more a small sapling blasted from the ground. As Khelben closed the door, Tsarra also noticed that blue sparks danced among the cluster of roots at the staff’s top. He also had a broad smileon his face, and his steel-blue eyes danced with delight.
    Khelben turned, noticed his apprentices’ stares, and within a heartbeat, his face returned to its normal impassive countenance.
    “Why is it so surprising that I am not wearing my usual dour robes? I have of late been at the Tchazzam villa for mornfeast,” he said in a low monotone. “Now, I believe the Dreamer has a spell to show us. Tsarra, please place the item before her so she may begin.” Khelben spoke quickly, leaving them little room to respond or question. “Center yourself, Danthra, and educate us as to the parameters of your spell.”
    “Uh, Master,” Danthra interrupted. “I had a vision this morning that concerned you.”
    “Indeed? Fascinating. You can tell me all about it after you’ve performed this spell, yes?”
    Danthra looked at Tsarra with a weak smile. Tsarra gave her an encouraging grin. Danthra always got nervous around the Blackstaff, even after spending the past nine years in his home and under his tutelage. He was the one to name her the Dreamer, after her unpredictable and debilitating visions. Each vision could incapacitate Danthra for moments or whole days, but all of them proved prophetic.
    Tsarra laid out the belt, smoothing its links and getting slight tingles from the green gems. With her back to Khelben, Tsarra winked at Danthra to set her more at ease, and the girl smiled weakly back. Tsarra took up a parchment and quill to record the spell test and all things said during it.
    Danthra released a long breath then stood and placed her hands on the table without touching the belt. “The spell has no name as yet, but it’s an extension of the divination theories behind basic detection and identification spells. It can divine anyone who crafted the item or anyone who used it for extended periods of time. Most often, it deals with concrete factors about an item, not ephemeral legends or historical information. With concentration and time, this spell should allow its caster to learn as much about the physical andmagical properties of any item she encounters.”
    “What is the spell’s range?” Khelben asked, his fingers steepled before his lips.
    “Less than an armspan, sir. I limited it, as this is a spell for study, not combat.”
    Khelben nodded his approval then rose. He seemed lost in thought but waved his hand for her to move along. Oblivious to how he was distracting her, the archmage moved behind Tsarra and placed his gnarled staff against the outer wall, leaning it against one of the bookshelves.
    As he returned to his seat, he explained, “Best I get any other magical items from your sight, lest they disrupt the casting. Please continue, but go slowly so our sorcerous friend—” Khelben gestured toward Tsarra—“may record the nuances of the casting.”
    Danthra coughed nervously, took a drink of water, and resumed. “The older an item is, the longer the casting can take to divine all its properties, but unlike the common identify spell, this can root out all of an item’s abilities with enough time. If an item is made of many different materials, that may slow the effects as well, since the magic will take the caster through all the